Welcome back to another monthly update from Root of Good! This post will cover what we were up to during January and February of this year. It was a busy two months, with a 16 night cruise to Hawaii straddling the end of January and beginning of February. We have been home in Raleigh for about two weeks now, and will head out on our next big adventure in Europe in another two weeks.
As I mentioned in my last blog post, I’m switching up the format of these monthly updates a bit. I am de-emphasizing the detailed monthly income, spending, and net worth reports but will touch on those financial aspects to some extent.
Financial Update
On the income side it was a fairly normal two months. Some small dividends since it’s not the end of the quarter. I had a two hour early retirement lifestyle consulting session and made a little from that.
As far as spending, we had two big expenses in the last two months. Our washing machine finally bit the dust, so I had to replace it for about $650. I tried to repair the washer a couple of months ago but I broke the transmission case in the process apparently. Who knew washers even had a transmission with oil inside it?
Instead of spending $180 on a replacement part and I decided to let money fix the problem and replace the whole washer.
The other big expense was a brake replacement on our Hyundai Accent. This repair cost just under $600 for new pads and rotors on the front brakes and an adjustment and cleaning on the rear drum brakes.
These ~$600 “emergencies” aren’t emergencies at all, and in fact they are baked into our $40,000 per year early retirement budget. These “one time” expenses happen pretty often.
On the net worth side, we are above $4 million now, which is an exciting milestone to hit. No money worries in our future.
January Recap
During January we spent a lot of time with family at home. It snowed in Raleigh a couple of times in the past two months but we missed the second snowfall while we were in Hawaii on the cruise. The first snowfall was supposed to be pretty bad with a lot of anticipated power outages due to ice accumulation. It turned out to be relatively mild and not many households lost power.
During January, the cross-country “Walk for Peace” led by a group of Buddhist monks made its way through Raleigh. We braved the wintry conditions and traveled a couple of blocks from our house to line up along their route. As we waited and watched, the monks marched along the snow-covered US 1 Highway, as they continued on their journey toward Washington, DC.
It was a real treat to see the monks’ march, and doubly exciting with the backdrop of the relatively uncommon winter weather here in Raleigh.
February, and Our 16 night cruise to Hawaii
In very late January, we flew to San Francisco where we boarded the Ruby Princess for a 16 night cruise to Hawaii.
We arrived in San Francisco around 3 pm, so we went out for a daytime stroll from our hotel down to Union Square. Then we had a bite to eat at La Bodega, a Vietnamese restaurant, using my Chase Sapphire Reserve dining credit. I’m glad to report that the areas we visited were relatively tame and safe looking. However, the area a couple of blocks from our hotel looked super sketchy as we drove through there in an Uber just before arriving at our hotel.
Once aboard the cruise, we were supposed to have four days in Hawaii but we missed our port call at the Big Island of Hawaii due to weather. On the way back to San Francisco, our ship stopped in Ensenada, Mexico for one day. We spent four days crossing the Pacific Ocean on the way to Hawaii and five days on the way back east heading towards Mexico.
We ended up docking in:
- Honolulu (Oahu)
- Kauai
- Maui
- Ensenada, Mexico
Overall, I thought the cruise was great. There weren’t a lot of ports but the ports that we did visit in Hawaii were amazing. It was our first time in Hawaii so it was a completely new experience for us. Each day we picked up a rental car and drove all over the islands.
Honolulu and Oahu
The first port of call was in Honolulu. We caught an Uber to the airport and grabbed our rental car for the day.
After criss-crossing the mountains and heading to the east side of Oahu, then back to Honolulu, we started our counterclockwise circumnavigation of the island.
We stopped at several lookouts on the southern part of Oahu.
We took a break at the He’eia State Park on the east side of Oahu for a couple of hours. We enjoyed a simple picnic lunch by the water as we watched the military planes landing at the base across the bay from us. This place was nice and calm and tranquil with just a few tourists other than us. We were definitely outnumbered by the stray cats and chickens.
As we continued on our way around the island, we arrived at the North Shore of Oahu, where the waves were pretty massive. Lots of surfers doing their thing. We also found the crowds of tourists as we struggled (and failed) to find a parking spot at one of the more famous surf beaches.
Our last stop before dropping off the rental car was at the Dole Plantation. We arrived literally minutes before they closed but still had a few minutes to look around the gardens.
Kauai and Waimea Canyon
The next day, our ship docked at Kauai. We grabbed the rental car and headed out to the Waimea Canyon. The first stop was the “red dirt falls” that’s alongside an unmarked pull-off on the drive up to the Waimea Canyon State Park. When we arrived, an influencer was recording video of himself bathing in the waterfall. I decided that simply scooping up some water would be a perfectly adequate way to enjoy the little stream.
The landscape was very martian-like with the red dirt and rolling slopes. I thought the red dirt would be slippery like North Carolina red clay, but it was not. Very grippy and easy to climb around on.
The drive along the Waimea Canyon was stunning. I think it’s as impressive as the Grand Canyon even though it’s nowhere near as deep or wide.
Maui – The Road To Hana on the “Back Side”
We spent a day at sea after visiting Kauai. We were supposed to drop anchor just off the Big Island of Hawaii, but the waves were too strong for our tender boats to bring us to shore. So we sailed around in circles all day.
After a day at sea, we then arrived at Maui. Our ship made a stunning entrance into port right as the sun rose. A rainbow, deciding to not be outdone by the grandeur of the sunrise, greeted us with a big “aloha”.
In Maui, we set out early and picked up the rental car. They gave us a minivan, because they ran out of compact cars.
We decided to avoid the crowds and head out along the “Road to Hana” on the “backside” of the Haleakala volcano. It’s possible to make a full loop around the eastern half of the island of Maui but we didn’t want to fight the traffic and crowds on the northern section of the road.
We enjoyed a quiet drive through the fog as we traversed the slopes of the volcano. Eventually the sky cleared and we were treated to some epic views of rolling grassy volcano slopes with the ocean in the distance. And some wild goats.
I hiked down to an old church near our turnaround point just before Hana. While I was hiking back up to the car, Mrs. Root of Good made friends with a local, Sam Aina (“Aina” means “land” in the native Hawaiian language). Sam told us all about the history of that part of Maui near Hana and how his family has been there since the 1800’s (or longer). His grandfather was originally the pastor at the church that I hiked down to. Sam mentioned how his kids have almost all moved away and don’t really want to return since that part of the island is so secluded.
“There’s no McDonald’s and no stores out here, so the kids think it’s boring!”, he said. And there we were, 5,000 miles from home visiting this beautiful area in the middle of nowhere and thinking it’s the most amazing thing ever!
On the drive back to the cruise port, we stopped by the Ho’okipa Beach to hopefully spot some sea turtles sunning along the shoreline. I counted over 75 surfers in the water, too. The sea turtles did show up in big numbers as well.
Ensenada, Mexico
We departed Hawaii, and sailed for five days until we reached Ensenada, Mexico. From what I understand from west coast cruise veterans, Ensenada is the port where you just stay on the ship and don’t even venture onto land.
Since it was our first time in Ensenada, I decided to venture out and see why nobody likes Ensenada. It was a mostly nice stroll through town, with a walk along the Promenade followed by a visit to the History Museum.
Along the way we encountered the persistent touts selling stuff on the street and trying to persuade us to enter their establishments. We scooted out of the main tourist street pretty quickly and made our way to the more relaxing grounds of the Cultural Center.
The History Museum and the Cultural Center both had little exhibits on the Spanish missions that “civilized” the west coast of Baja California and (present day) California throughout much of the 1600’s and 1700’s. A great reminder that America is a relatively new country, especially the western parts of it.
Back on board
We departed the ship on Valentine’s day. The last night of the cruise, they had a mass wedding vow renewal ceremony for those that wanted to participate.
Trip Costs (aka Ultimate Extreme Travel Hacking!)
This sounds weird, but we paid basically nothing out of pocket for this vacation. All told, we spent less than $100 out of pocket for a vacation that would normally cost around $10,000.
How did we do it?
Flights – Southwest points with a companion pass so they were buy one get one free.
Meals – On land, Chase Sapphire Reserve dining credit, plus some airport lounges. On the ship, the food is all included.
Local Transportation – The rental cars were all $50 to $75 per day but I booked each one with a $50 off coupon from Chase. And the balance I paid with Chase Ultimate reward points (booked through Chase Travel portal at 1.5x redemption rate). I did put $10-20 worth of gas in the rental cars each day.
Hotel – I booked 1 night pre-cruise using Chase Ultimate Reward points
Cruise Fare – I got a discounted cruise fare and used Chase Ultimate Rewards points through the Chase Travel portal. I did have to call in to Chase Travel to book the cruise.
Uber/Lyft – I paid a few bucks here and there but most of the rideshare costs were covered by credits from United credit cards and Chase Sapphire Reserve credit cards. Each month, I get six credits ranging from $5 to $10, and some of those can stack together. Since this cruise straddled 2 months, I had 12 credits to use up.
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If you are interested in getting free travel from your credit card like I do, consider the Chase Ink business cards (my referral link). Right now, the Chase Ink cards offer an above average $750-1000 worth of Chase Ultimate Rewards points that can be redeemed instantly for $750-1000 in cash (or even more for travel!).
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I use the 90,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points from my recent offer by transferring them to my Chase Sapphire Reserve card (also offering a 125,000 point sign up bonus right now). I can transfer those Ultimate rewards points to over a dozen travel partners’ airline/hotel programs like United, Southwest, or Hyatt. For example, I transferred 6,500 Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt and used them to book a $300/night room that sleeps five during the peak season in the Virginia mountains.
Capital One Venture X card
Another favorite travel card in my wallet is the Capital One Venture X card. The Venture X card is a “keeper” for me. First off, it comes with a $750 sign up bonus after spending $4,000 in the first three months. The bonus is paid in the form of 75,000 bonus points that you can redeem against any travel purchases from anywhere. Then you earn a solid 2 points per dollar spent forever! The other big perk is airport lounge access. You get free entry for yourself into Priority Pass and Capital One airport lounges (guests are extra after February 1, 2026). Add to this primary rental car insurance coverage and a bunch of other perks.
The Capital One Venture X card does have one catch – a $395 annual fee. But they reward you every year with an easy to use $300 travel discount plus $100 worth of points. Together, that makes $400 they give you annually which completely offsets the annual fee. Since the annual fee is offset in full by travel credits each year, I personally plan on keeping the Venture X card forever since the card benefits are so great.
Cruise Conclusions
The cruise was great for me. Mrs. Root of Good got a little bored on the nine sea days we had getting to and from Hawaii.
I appreciated the warm weather, and forgot all about the cold winter weather back in Raleigh until I’d get a snow picture from our kids in the family group chat. Or pull out my laptop and see “It’s 16F in Raleigh right now” on my computer home screen. Brrrrrr!!!
Hawaii itself was amazing. Crowded, but amazing. I get the appeal for those that love Hawaii and visit often. I don’t think I am a Hawaii convert however. It’s a loooooong way from Raleigh.
In fact, most of Europe is closer to us on the east coast compared to Hawaii which is almost 5,000 miles away. Places like Poland, Finland, Morocco and Croatia are all closer than Hawaii. If I lived in Los Angeles, San Diego or San Francisco and the flight was “only” several hours long I can see how it’s a nice vacation spot. From the east coast, it’s in the middle of nowhere!
The crowds in some areas were too much. Fortunately we were able to get away from the crowds for the most part but I definitely have to deduct a point or 2 from my review of Hawaii because of the excessive crowds. And yes, I realize I am part of the problem.
We do have another cruise to Hawaii booked for next year, so we will get a chance to experience the natural beauty of the islands a second time. I have to admit that I am looking forward to it!
Closing thoughts
We had a great, relaxing, lazy wonderful January. Then we hopped on a relaxing cruise to somewhere new to us. It’s hard to complain.
It’s nice being home though. Our kids are busy with school or work most weekdays, but we enjoy the few hours we spend with them each day. Time flies, and before long our kids may move out and we would spend even less time with them.
So for now, we’re balancing traveling a lot with spending time at home with the kids. Vacation is a vacation and home is a vacation, I guess. Such is the early retired life.
We have two more weeks in Raleigh then we are back on the road. This time we’ll be sailing around the Mediterranean assuming the conflict in the middle east stays in the middle east.
That’s it for me this month. See you next time!
Ever been to Hawaii? What did you think?
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